Nuclear weapons campaign targets Lismore

Friday, August 26th, 2011 - Australian Red Cross

Australian Red Cross is bringing its ‘Make Nuclear Weapons the Target’ campaign to Lismore.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Officer, Peter Giugni will speak about the history of Red Cross in the nuclear weapons debate and answer questions on the status of nuclear weapons at a free international humanitarian law seminar in Lismore on Tuesday 6 September.

Australian Red Cross CEO Robert Tickner says “The time has come to target the use of nuclear weapons.

“The people and governments of the world have shown that progress can be made by putting in place significant new international humanitarian law conventions targeting land mines and cluster munitions, but the challenge of nuclear weapons has so far eluded us.

“Earlier this month to mark Hiroshima Day, Red Cross kicked off a campaign to ban the use of these weapons” says Mr Giugni.

“It is estimated that worldwide today there are at least 20,000 nuclear weapons in existence, around 3,000 of them on launch-ready alert.

“Combined they have a destructive force equivalent to around 150,000 Hiroshima bombs.

The free event, at Lismore’s Presbyterian Church Hall, starts at 6.30pm.

Bookings are essential, RSVP to Carla Jolley on (02) 6561 4000 or at [email protected]

The Australian Red Cross campaign also includes a major online referendum where you can cast your vote on the issue at www.targetnuclearweapons.org.au.